Recruitment process

Making a plan for hiring #

The hiring lead works with the People team to create a plan for hiring using the hiring doc template. This includes planning for each stage of recruitment by doing the following;

• set up the roles in Applied where we manage the hiring process
• write our sifting and interview questions, and their review guides
• work out who will be part of the hiring team and try to make sure that interview panels are diverse

Writing a job description #

Before deciding to advertise a new job, we try to write an inclusive job description. The hiring lead will work with heads of professions, the hiring team, and the People team to make sure that they’ve gathered what they need and to get feedback on it. We’ve written about our approach to job descriptions here on our blog.

We always include a salary band in the job description.

Once the hiring lead has a first draft they will put the job description through The Gender Decoder and make relevant changes before sharing with the Diversity and Inclusion group for a final review.

We then publish the job advert on our careers page.

Finding people #

We sometimes find people through our networks, and share our jobs on Twitter and LinkedIn.

We also always advertise on specialist jobs boards as relevant. We have a budget to advertise roles and encourage hiring leads to think about how they could use this to attract more diverse applicants. We use the following job boards:

• Hustle Crew
• Coding Black Females
• Ada’s List
• Escape the City

We typically don’t use recruiters.

We always welcome general applications if there’s not an open vacancy.

Reviewing applications #

The hiring lead and the hiring team review applications to decide who to take forward.

We check whether applicants might be able to carry out the job description, and decide whether to take them to the next stage.

We always inform candidates if they are not being taken to the next stage.

Sifting questions #

All candidates are required to answer sifting questions as part of their application. These questions are written by the hiring team and are a chance for candidates to explain their skillset by answering role specific questions.

Interviewing #

Interviews are an hour long with two members of the team. Candidates have a choice of Google Meet or Zoom as their platform to interview on.

dxw interviews are informal. They are a semi-structured conversation. We use competency-based questions, and look for answers that describe a candidate’s own experience.

Interviewers should take notes during the interview.

We include time in interviews for candidates to ask questions, whether about dxw, the role, or the process. We will always try to answer, but we will check things if we need to and get back to them.

Directly after an interview, the interviewers will add their notes to Applied without discussing the candidate first. Once all of the interviews are completed, the hiring team will meet to discuss who will progress to the next stage.

If a candidate is not being taken to the next stage, we will provide detailed feedback from the interview.

Simulating a work day #

A work sim (simulated work day) is a 2-3 hour activity based on a real world problem or task. We use this to make sure that a candidate is capable of taking on a role. We also find out about how a candidate approaches their work. It also gives the candidate the chance to meet more people they would be working with and to understand more about the role, how we work, and the expectations of the job itself.

Whether or not you’re asked do a work sim, and the kind of activity you’ll do, depends on the role you applied for. For technical roles, this might involve pairing with one of our developers, and for delivery roles, running a planning session for a team. The activity will always involve working in conjunction with someone in a similar role to the one the candidate is applying for.

We send candidates the task and an explanation at least 24 hours before the work day, so that they have a chance to read and understand the scope of the activity, to prepare anything they need to, or to pull out if they don’t feel like they are a good fit.

At the end of a work day, we ask the candidate to briefly and informally present their activity to a small group.

After all work days are completed, the hiring team will meet. For candidates who have not been successful, we will provide detailed feedback from the interview and work day.

Making a job offer #

When we are ready to offer a job, the People team will call and email the candidate with the details of the offer, including salary and a proposed start date. If the candidate accepts the offer, we start the onboarding process. If they have queries, the People team will discuss them with them and make adjustments where possible and appropriate.

Offers are subject to successfully completing eligibility to work in the UK checks and a background check including BPSS and BS7858. We need to do this vetting due to restrictions in our client contracts.

Last updated: 9 May 2023 (history)